A form of group “talking therapy” is a cheap, effective way to alleviate low back pain, a UK trial has shown. According to the BBC, the positive effect was still seen a year after the short six-session therapy programme, the Lancet reported.

The 600 patients taking part in the trial were also offered standard GP treatment including pain medication.

The sessions were designed to tackle unhelpful beliefs about back pain and physical activity and help patients better manage their condition.
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About 150 drivers have been caught not wearing seat belts across Dorset during a week-long crackdown by motor patrol police.

According to the BBC, those caught were fined by officers for not buckling up during the operation which took place between 15 and 21 February 2010.

During that week one backseat passenger who was not wearing a seatbelt suffered serious injuries after going through a car windscreen, police said.
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A paramedic refused to resuscitate a patient and then told a series of lies to cover his tracks, a court was told.

According to the BBC, Karl Harris told a colleague there was “no point” resuscitating Barry Baker after they were called to his home in Brighton, East Sussex, jurors heard.

Mr Baker dialled 999, and died after suffering a cardiac arrest in November 2008, Lewes Crown Court heard.

Mr Harris, 45, denies perverting the course of justice.
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Victims of the thalidomide scandal will be given extra help through a £3.4 million fund announced by the Scottish government.

According to the BBC, the money will help the 55 known survivors in Scotland adapt their homes and but specialised equipment. Health surgeon Nicola Sturgeon said many were still battling with the disabilities thalidomide had caused.

Pregnant women were prescribed the drug in the 1950s and 1960s as a treatment for morning sickness or insomnia. It was withdrawn from sale in 1961 after babies were born with limb deformities and other damage.
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A hospital in Essex where a severely disabled man died has admitted breaching health and safety laws.

According to the BBC, Kyle Flack, 20, from Stanford-le-Hope, who suffered from severe cerebral palsy, was found dead at Basildon University Hospital on 12 October 2006.

His head had become trapped in the rails around his bed, an inquest heard.
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A stretch of coastal road in North Yorkshire is set to be closed because of the danger of landslips.

According to the BBC, temporary traffic lights have been set up on the old A165 Filey Road linking Cayton Bay and Osgodby.

A county council spokesman said: “Given the unpredictable nature of further slippage it is expected the old A165 will have to be closed very soon.”

The landslips have already led to the demolition on safety grounds of three cliff-top homes at nearby Knipe Point.
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Flintshire councillors are to consider recommendations on reviewing how they manage coastal sites, following the death of a nine-year-old boy.

According to the BBC, Jordan Baker drowned while playing in the River Dee with his father, brother and a friend in May 2009.

An inquest in January 2010 recorded an accidental death verdict with coroner John Hughes warning the river can be “treacherous”.

A report to the council says it should identify risks at its coastal sites.
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Health officials in Newport are investigating eight cases of salmonella at the city’s Royal Gwent Hospital.

According to the BBC, a hospital spokesman said that it was not yet clear whether those suffering from the bacterial infection had caught it in the community or in the hospital.

GPs in the area have been contacted to alert them to the possibility the bug may be present in the community.
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Three fire service bosses were arrested yesterday in connection with a warehouse blaze that killed four fire-fighters.

According to The Times, the fire occurred at a vegetable packing plant in Warwickshire and resulted in the deaths of Ian Reid,44, Darren Yates-Badley, 24, Ashley Stephens, 20, and John Averis, 27, who were attempting to tackle the blaze at Atherstone on Stour in 2007.

It is understood that the three men being questioned are managers that played a commanding and organisational role in tackling the fire. All three were questioned under suspicion of gross negligence, manslaughter and offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
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